On 30th January (Friday), Lakhendra Kumar Roshan, Bihar’s scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (SC and ST) welfare department minister, announced that the government is going to cover the entire fee of the students enrolled in reputable universities like NIT, IIT, AIIMS, NIFT and others, belonging to these communities.
Roshan stated that the government has updated the scholarship support offered under the Mukhya Mantri Anusuchit Jati evam Anusuchit Janjati Praveshikottar Chhatravritti Yojana for students aspiring to get into prestigious institutions such as the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna (CIMP).
He conveyed, “With the new decision, the SC and ST welfare department will now pay the entire fee amount for pursuing higher education in the reputed institutions of both central and state governments” and underlined that there will be “no cap on the fee.” According to him, the government currently provides SC and ST students with between ₹70,000 and ₹90,000 for higher education at either central or state-run institutions, and the new development “removes financial barriers, allowing our students to dream big without worry.”
The minister mentioned that the state also raised the annual amount the department provides to SC and ST students enrolled in courses at non-governmental institutions in Bihar, including ITIs, Diploma/Polytechnic and similar degrees, as well as other professional courses.
He pointed out, “With the increase in the annual fee amount to be paid by the department, students willing to pursue ITI courses will now get a maximum annual fee of ₹7,500 as against the existing ₹5,000. Similarly, students pursuing diploma/polytechnic and other equivalent courses will get an annual fee of ₹15,000 instead of ₹10,000, while those opting for other professional and technical courses will receive ₹25,000 against the existing ₹15,000. The annual fee includes tuition fee and all other fees.”
Roshan highlighted that the department had licensed hostels in 276 blocks in over half of all the blocks in the state. “We aim to open hostels in all the 534 blocks of the state in the next five years, as it is our priority to ensure hostel facilities for SC and ST students across Bihar,” he expressed.
He informed that tenders have been completed in multiple sites and 100 “Savitribai Phule Girls Hostels” with a capacity of 100 beds have been approved in 18 districts and the program has been authorised for every district. The minister added that there are 136 blocks with more than 30,000 SC/ST residents but no hostel facilities. Hence, the department has permitted 60 hostels in these blocks with a capacity of 100 beds. It operates 91 residential schools, of which 50 are for boys 37 are for girls and four are coeducational.
More than 70,500 online applications have been submitted for the 8,595 open seats with a total seating capacity of 44,240. He attributed the numbers to better facilities and higher-quality education. He noted that 28 additional residential schools are likely to be approved by the end of FY 2025-26 and construction on them is already commencing.
Roshan also noted that the department has quadrupled the yearly pre-matric scholarship for SC and ST students in the current financial year under the pre-matric (school) scholarship scheme. Approximately 27 lakh SC and ST students in grades I through X are anticipated to gain from the decision. Students in grades V and VI will receive ₹2,400 instead of the current ₹1,200, while the scholarship amount for grades I through IV has been raised to ₹1,200 from ₹600.
Students in grades VII through X will be given an annual scholarship of ₹3,600 instead of the current scholarship of ₹1,800 and those in grades I through X who live in dorms will be offered a revised annual scholarship of ₹6,000 as opposed to the present amount of ₹3,000. An annual expenditure of ₹519.64 crore has been sanctioned for the initiative and the government wants to open dormitories in all 534 blocks in Bihar.
According to Roshan, the department contributes significantly to the realisation of Viksit Bihar’s (Developed Bihar) mission by empowering SC and ST individuals in social, economic and educational spheres.
